Tintin in LA
by Luna's World
Summary: Tintin and the gang get a taste of America and don't know what's hit them! A female detective joins the ride and come across a dangerous situation that may change the boy reporter for the rest of his life...
1. Chapter 1

Tintin in L.A.

Chapter One: Teenager Issues?

It was almost 2 AM at the Marlinspike household, as the residents who lived there were all snoozing soundly in their beds. The sky was an inky blanket of diamonds and the round, glowing moon shone beautifully in the sky. The dim, shimmery moonlight filled the garden with a soft glow, the willow trees swaying slowly in the cool breeze and the flower petals flowing gently in the air. The atmosphere was quiet and solemn; the only sounds are the rustling of the trees and the trickling of the fountain.

A tall, slim figure with quite a regal, civilized posture stood straight and very gentleman-like on the lawn, watering the roses. His face was blank and civilized, an unimpressed look on his face nearly the whole time. He was a man in his mid forties that never smiled and was always quite pompous and snarky all the time. For everyone else, it was annoying, but for Nestor, it was perfectly fine with him. Even watering flowers at 2 AM didn't seem to bother him. Hell, worse things have happened to him anyway.

He looked up at the luxurious, Edwardian style mansion and was pleased to see that all the windows were dark, indicating that everyone had FINALLY gone to bed. But suddenly he noticed at the top right corner of the mansion, the light was on and a silhouette was sitting near the window, typing away at a typewriter. He noticed that the silhouette was a distinct shape and he suddenly realised that the shadow had a quiff on the top of its head.

"Oh no, he's at it again..." mumbled Nestor, rolling his eyes. He dropped the watering can and entered the mansion.

The main hall of the mansion was HUGE, with a wide, dome shaped ceiling decorated with paintings and a huge chandelier, dripping with crystals, hung from the ceiling. The hall was decorated with red velvet sofas and polished wooden tables, filled with all sorts of photo frames and lamps and statues. Nestor walked regally up the huge, wide golden staircase and passed the other rooms where the other guests were sleeping. The noises he was hearing was unbelievable, Captain Haddock was yelling insults, Bianca Castifore was singing and Professor Calculus was mumbling equations.

"Honestly, why can't they keep quiet in their sleep?" groaned Nestor, slapping his palm to his face. After walking up a few staircases and travelling down some hallways, he finally got up to the room where a certain someone was not sleeping. He opened the door just a little bit and peered through the crack. He saw that the room was indeed lit up with two lamps, giving the room a warm glow. He spotted a young, slender boy, probably by his height and build he didn't look a day over fifteen, wearing a blue jumper and his strawberry blonde hair was sticking up in a quiff at the front of his head. Although, it looked tousled and messy, as if he was stressed out about something, as he bent over a typewriter, not even noticing Nestor standing right next to him. Nestor cleared his throat, trying to get the young man's attention. He didn't even flinch at the noise, as his fingers typed frantically back and forth, his eyes quickly flickering across the paper.

"Monsieur Tintin?" he asked, a slight concerned tone in his voice. He was quite worried about the young reporter nowadays. Ever since the Unicorn incident, he was always type, typing away on that blasted typewriter, constantly stuck in this room all day, everyday. He sighed, as Tintin STILL didn't respond to Nestor's remark. Nestor grabbed a newspaper off the drawers and rolled it up tight into a cylinder. He aimed carefully at the back of Tintin's head, raising it high to whack him on the head. Maybe that will catch his attention.

"What is it, Nestor?" snapped Tintin, turning round to see what the butler wanted. He gasped as the rolled up newspaper whacked him on the face.

"OUCH! Nestor, what did you do that for?" snapped Tintin, rubbing his face in pain. He looked into the mirror to see a tube shaped mark on his cheek.

"Oh dear, I was only supposed to tap you on the back of the head. I'm very sorry, Monsieur Tintin..." mumbled Nestor, fiddling with the rolled up newspaper.

"Well, that's going to leave a mark tomorrow morning..." sighed Tintin, rubbing his stinging cheek.

"I was only trying to get your attention, Monsieur Tintin! You seem away with the fairies with that blasted typewriter!"

"I know, I know... I'm sorry, Nestor, it's just that... I'm just..."

"Teenager issues?"

"Well, kind of... but it's just my job and that I'm just exhausted from all the work I have to do recently... and..."

"And you're tired?"

"Very. I really have been at this thing non-stop, haven't I? I'm sorry, I just want to publish the perfect article for _Le Petit Vingtième_ and they really are demanding the perfect article about the Unicorn! I've been writing and writing for ages, trying to get the right words, but nothings coming out right!" yelled Tintin, waving his arms frantically, his voice turning into a high-pitched fluster of stress and his cheeks turning into a scarlet shade of red. Nestor raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like Monsieur Tintin to get this flustered. Only when his voice started to break, that was a sign that he was in a lot of stress.

"Monsieur... I think you're working way too hard. You need to calm down and stop stressing! A boy of your age shouldn't be getting flustered about silly things like this!"

Tintin dropped his arms, his cheeks still red with stress. Nestor was right. He was working too hard. Typewriting at 2 AM in the morning? What the hell was he thinking?

"You're right, Nestor. I'm sorry about snapping at you. I really should stop it with the article."

"There's a good lad! Now, I think you should get going to bed, you look dreadful!"

Tintin stared into the mirror. Nestor was right. Again. His blue eyes that were once sparkling and full of adventure were now dull and lifeless, like all sense of excitement has been sucked out of them. Dark bags sagged under his eyes, a sign of sleep depravity and depression. His skin that was glowing with youth was now pale and dried up and there were faint signs of... spots?

"Nestor... do you think that I'm getting... ugly?" asked Tintin, lightly touching his face, inspecting the mirror with deep thought.

"What? Oh, don't be ridiculous, Tintin! Of course you're not ugly! Why would you think such a thing?" said Nestor, setting Tintin's pyjamas on the bed.

"It's just that... I don't know... I'm just feeling weird lately... Nestor, can I talk to you for a few moments?" asked Tintin, standing in front of a mirror and taking his shirt off.

"Of course. What would you like to discuss?"

"It's just... well... I just don't feel... well... I can't explain it, it's just weird..." said Tintin, staring into the mirror, holding his shirt meekly near his chest, "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes, you can."

"I... I feel stupid by saying this but... Am I attractive?" asked Tintin shyly.

"WHAT?" gasped Nestor, dropping the pyjamas. He has never heard such a thing like that coming from Tintin's mouth before!

"Oh dear, I'm sorry! It was an inappropriate question, I'm sorry! I... I better get to bed... I'm sorry!" stammered Tintin, grabbing his pyjamas off Nestor and running behind a changing board. Suddenly, the door burst open and two men and a woman stood alarmed at the door. The woman was tall and prominent, her blonde hair permed into rollers, wearing a pink dressing gown and holding a shotgun. One of the men was the same height with a black beard and a sailor's cap and a blue dressing gown and holding a cane. The other guy was a LOT shorter with a goatee, little, round glasses and a green bowler hat, wearing a green dressing gown and holding a green umbrella.

"What happened? Did someone get hurt?" exclaimed the sailor in the blue dressing gown.

"What? No! Oh for crying out loud, Captain Haddock, no-one got hurt!" snapped Nestor. Tintin popped his head round the changing board and was surprised to see the three intruders standing at the doorway with weapons.

"But we heard someone shout! We thought there was a burglar or something!" exclaimed Bianca, holding the shotgun gingerly.

"Yes, even **I **could hear the noises! And that's saying something!" said Professor Calculus, waving the umbrella in the air. Suddenly, the umbrella burst open and knocked Professor Calculus right off his feet. Nestor groaned at these idiots.

"Look, no-one got hurt. I was just speaking to Monsieur Tintin about a certain something..."

"Oh for crying out loud, what have you said this time, lad?" snapped Captain Haddock.

"Nothing, Captain, I swear. It's just... well... Do you guys think I'm attractive?" asked Tintin meekly. There was a sudden silence as everyone looked at Tintin like he was crazy. Suddenly, the whole room burst out with laughter. Bianca fell onto Captain Haddock, laughing with a screech in her tone and Professor Calculus, still on the floor, was laughing so hard he was rolling about the floor. Even Nestor couldn't help but giggle at this ridiculous remark.

"What? I was only asking..." mumbled Tintin, messing around with his fingers.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Why would you say something like that!" laughed Captain Haddock.

"Looks like someone's got teenager issues!" laughed Professor Calculus. Everyone laughed harder as Tintin blushed with total embarrassment. Even he couldn't believe what he's said. What the hell was he thinking...?

"OK! OK! That's enough! You're embarrassing the poor kid!" sniffed Bianca, wiping her cheeks as she giggled a few more times, "Aww look, he's blushing!"

"Why would you ask that?" asked Professor Calculus, standing up and picking up his umbrella.

"I don't know... Look, you're the scientist you should know!"

"Well, he IS growing up. I mean, he's fifteen and yet he hasn't had one encounter with any women yet!"

"Yeah tell that to the whole household why don't you..." mumbled Tintin darkly.

"You see! Mood swings! He's growing up! Even his voice is breaking!"

"My voice is not breaking!" yelled Tintin, his voice breaking out into a high-pitched squeak.

"See? It's normal to be like this. A boy your age shouldn't be work, work, working and instead play, play, playing." said Professor Calculus, hitching up his glasses.

"What the blistering barnacles are you talking about?" snapped Captain Haddock, staring at Professor Calculus.

"Well, I'm saying that he needs to get out more."

"Get out more? Have you been in a coma lately? Didn't you hear about the whole Unicorn situation? You know, the one that's making all the headlines recently?" yelled Captain Haddock, grabbing a newspaper and shoving it in Professor Calculus's face. He hitched up his glasses to read the huge, bold headline reading, "**Secret of the Unicorn Found by Reporter and Sailor**" Professor Calculus sniffed and looked up at Haddock, who was still frowning at him.

"Well, no I didn't hear about this, seeing as I was away in Russia when this happened... And also I can't hear anyway..." giggled Professor Calculus.

"Why you little..." growled Haddock, clenching his fists. Nestor cleared his throat quickly.

"May I suggest you go back to bed? You seem a little flustered. And Mademoiselle Castafiore... may I suggest to drop the shotgun?"

"Oh please, Nestor, there's no need! It's not even loaded!" said Bianca, spinning the shotgun. Suddenly, she accidently clicked the trigger and a loud bang popped from the shotgun and hit the chandelier. The chandelier crashed onto the floor from the impact of the bullet and everyone screamed with fright. Bianca stared at the chandelier and then stared at the shotgun.

"Oh... or maybe it WAS loaded..." she mumbled, dropping the shotgun. It exploded again and a vase smashed from the bullet. Everyone looked at Bianca darkly.

"Alright, that's it, OUT!" yelled Nestor, pushing them out of the room and slamming the door. Tintin couldn't help but smile at these crazy people.

"Honestly, I don't know how you put up with them, Tintin, but they just drive me crazy!"

"Ahh, don't worry, they have their days. We all drive each other crazy."

"Well, I'll let you get to sleep then. All this anarchy and yet your dog is still sleeping!" he exclaimed, pointing to a white fox terrier curled up in a basket sleeping soundly.

"Oh, Snowy will sleep through anything!"

"Even at a shotgun going off..." sighed Nestor, shaking his head, "Well, I leave you be then." He exited the room, shutting the door behind him. Tintin sighed and shook his head. He changed into his pyjamas and jumped into bed. He stared up at the ceiling for quite some time, just thinking about what was going on recently. Suddenly, he felt something lick his feet. He sat up and spotted Snowy sat on the end of the bed, licking his feet enthusiastically.

"Oh, so NOW you wake up!" he sighed, smiling warmly at his companion, "Come up here then, you rascal." he said, patting his lap. Snowy ran up to his friend, slightly hopping on the bed trying to get to his master. He leaped into his lap, licking Tintin's face all over.

"Hey! Hey! Stop it, Snowy! Don't get too excited at this time of the night... or morning!" he laughing, trying to compose his dog, "Here lie down next to me." He lay down on the pillow, Snowy lying next to him under the quilt.

"There, that's better! Well, Snowy, fifteen years old and look at me! Still working hard, still mistaken for a child, still haven't even spoke to a girl..." Snowy barked, "And that's NOT including Bianca! I guess I'm just still not in my comfort zone yet. I'm just too... shy, I guess. Too baby-faced, too innocent, too... unconfident. Oh, I don't even know what's happening to me nowadays! I mean, I'm whining more, moaning more, I'm always moody, always depressed, always stressed out and I'm getting paranoid about my appearance! I was never like that! I am always out all the time and I'm constantly wound up in an adventure, but I never get around socially... Like I have no friends my age... I'm even talking to a dog, for crying out loud!" Snowy whined, hurt by his friends words. "I'm sorry, Snowy, I love talking to you, but you're a dog. Even though you can understand me, it just doesn't seem normal." Tintin sighed, leaning back on the headboard, stroking Snowy, "I don't know. I'm probably just tired. Well, goodnight, Snowy." Snowy yapped in reply and snuggled under the quilt. Tintin sighed, switched off the light and set off to sleep. Maybe tomorrow would turn out for the better...

**And I am done! Took me a whole weekend, but I've finished it! So, it is my first Tintin FanFic and I have only just started reading the comics, so sorry if the characters seem OOC. I decided to have Tintin deal with teenager issues (though nobody's sure how old he actually is, so I went with fifteen, as he looked like that in the movies) and have him want to discover more about social life and his own sexuality. But if it's OOC and too stupid, then don't be afraid to tell me and I'll scrap the idea and just go with the flow! So please review and thank you for reading!**

**Luna's World**


	2. Chapter 2: A Trip of a Lifetime

**Author's Note: Hello again and thank you for coming! There's just one thing I'd like to say before this chapter! A massive thank you to ****Herring****, ****Ace Reader**** and ****The Babyfaced Assassin ****for leaving some very nice comments on this chapter, hugs to you guys! **

**Luna's World**

Tintin in L.A.

Chapter 2: A Trip of a Lifetime

"Tintin? Tintin? Tintin, are you still alive? TINTIN!"

Tintin opened his eyes slowly, a blurry image of the Captain standing over him, frowning and putting his hands on his hips.

"Oooh, what is it, Captain?" moaned Tintin, pulling the covers over his head. _Mon dieu, _he felt like there was a firework display exploding in his head!

"What is it? What it is, is that you're acting like a little child!" snapped Captain Haddock, his fingers tapping impatiently on the cabinet.

"Is that all?" yawned Tintin, his back facing the Captain. Captain Haddock growled and snatched the covers off Tintin, leaving him exposed to the freezing morning air. Tintin rolled up in a ball, shivering violently.

"Great Snakes, Captain, why is the window open!"

"What? It's about 27 degrees out there! It's boiling!"

"Are you sure it's not just you?"

"No it's not; the whole house is sweating buckets! Even though it's the beginning of January..."

"Fine, fine..." groaned Tintin, sitting up slowly and cautiously. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck in his head, causing him to clench his forehead in pain.

"OWWWW! Great Snakes, my head!" he exclaimed, leaning back on the headboard. Captain Haddock gasped and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at Tintin with concern.

"Blistering barnacles, are you alright, lad?" he asked, inspecting Tintin's face, "My word, you don't look good at all!"

"Huh?" squeaked Tintin, staring at the Captain.

"I meant you don't look good health-wise." he said, feeling Tintin's forehead, "Thundering typhoons, your forehead is roasting! Say 'aah' for me."

"Aah..." said Tintin, opening his mouth wide, the Captain, inspecting his throat.

"My, my, your throat is red raw! Is sore, lad?"

"Very. It feels like sandpaper." said Tintin, his voice raspy and quiet. He clenched his throat, rubbing it slightly.

"Hmm, I think you've got the fever... Look at your cheeks, they've gone raspberry red as well! I think I'll need the Professor to come and take a look..."

"Wait a second, Calculus? But he's not a doctor!"

"Well, he's knows more about medical science than I do!" said Captain Haddock, standing up and walking out of the room to find the Professor. Tintin groaned as he grabbed a hand mirror off the cabinet and stared into it. Oh dear, the Captain was right, he looked awful! He turned to the side, placing his head on his hand. Suddenly he heard a yelp, as he felt something bumpy underneath him. He looked under the covers to find Snowy lying flat across the bed.

"Oh dear, sorry, Snowy!"

Snowy barked as he leapt up onto Tintin's lap.

"Morning, boy! Looks like you've had a good sleep!" Snowy barked in reply, licking Tintin's face. "OK! OK! Stop!" he laughed, swiping Snowy's paws off his chest. "I'm not feeling so good right now, boy, so don't be jumping all over me!" Snowy looked up and saw that his friend indeed didn't look right at all. He nodded, licking his friend's hand in sympathy. Tintin smiled warmly at his faithful companion and leaned back on the headboard, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh...

"What's this I hear about little Tinnie not feeling well?" yelled Bianca, bursting into the room and looking around frantically.

"Damn it, Bianca! You better not have that shotgun again!" yelped Tintin, hugging Snowy tightly.

"Uh, uh, my hands are clean!" she said, putting her hands up in the air, "Anyway, little bird told me that a certain reporter is not feeling too good!"

"Yes, that is correct. Though I still might have to go to work though..."

"No, no, you're staying in that bed, young man!" she sang, tucking Tintin up and popping a thermometer in his mouth, "There! Now I got a surprise for you!"

"It better not be a song..." mumbled Tintin, the thermometer hanging from his mouth.

"Nope, it's much better than that! But if you do want a song..."

"No! No! Its fine, Bianca! Just tell me what the surprise is."

Bianca giggled and clapped her hands. She ran out of the room and slammed the door. Tintin looked quizzically at Snowy, who was just as confused as him. He heard Bianca thundering down the stairs, indicating that she was running very fast down the stairs.

"She must be really excited about something... I wonder what it is, Snowy?" Tintin took the thermometer out of his mouth to check the temperature. His eyes popped as he read the reading.

"Great Snakes, 102 degrees?" he yelped, putting his hand to his forehead. Suddenly he heard giggling and whispering, as the door creaked open and Professor Calculus popped his head round.

"Hello there, Tinhead, how are you?"

"Not good at all... And don't call me Tinhead! What's up with that nickname?"

"Just trying to cheer you up!"

"Well, it's not working..."

"Maybe THIS might cheer you up then!" Professor Calculus disappeared behind the door, whispering quite loud, though Tintin couldn't quite catch what he was saying. Suddenly the door burst open and everyone ran in, Captain Haddock holding a birthday cake.

"What the blazes?" yelped Tintin, sitting up straight on the bed.

"**Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, dear Tintin, Happy Birthday to you!" **everyone sang loudly, Bianca especially.

"W- wha- what i-is t-this?" stammered Tintin, as Captain Haddock placed the birthday cake on his lap, Snowy jumping out of the way, "You know my birthday isn't until the 10th!"

"Well, we thought that you can have an early birthday before your special birthday present this Friday!" said Professor Calculus, leaning over Tintin.

"Surprise birthday present?" Tintin looked quizzically at everyone as they smiled ear to ear, obviously very excited about something. Captain Haddock winked at Bianca, as she hid something behind her back. She was giggling like mad, hopping up and down like a little excited child.

"Well, come on then, lad, blow your candles and make a wish!" exclaimed Captain Haddock, jumping up and down on the bed.

Tintin shrugged his shoulders, took a deep breath and blew all his candles out. The whole room clapped and cheered, with Snowy barking enthusiastically. Tintin closed his eyes, crossed his fingers and mumbled his wish under his breath.

"What did you wish for then, Tinhead?" asked Professor Calculus, leaning in to try and see what he's mouthing.

"Silly! He's not supposed to tell you his wish!" said Bianca, slapping Professor Calculus lightly on the back of his head.

"Well, I don't know what to say, except thank you, thank you very much!" said Tintin, smiling warmly at his friends.

"Anyway, we have something very, very special for you! Show him, Bianca!" Bianca squealed and ran up to Tintin, kneeling down to face Tintin.

"Well... seeing as you are now sweet sixteen..."

"Wait a minute, he's sixteen?" exclaimed Professor Calculus.

"Yes... that's the whole reason why we gave him this present that has made us penniless and redundant..."

"Great Snakes! You have no money!" exclaimed Tintin.

"Well, technically yes, but that doesn't matter! What matters is that we have something that will blow you away!" squealed Bianca, whipping out a leaflet and shoving it in Tintin's face, "Read it! Read it! Read it!"

Tintin sighed and started to read it out loud.

"Congratulations on receiving the wonderful opportunity of vacationing in the sunny state of LA?" he yelped, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Keep on reading!"

"Not only do you get all the priorities for free, but also you have received a cruise trip to travel to the great country that is America!" he squealed, jumping up and down on the bed, "So, not only am I going to LA, but I get a cruise trip as well?"

"I see your pleased then!" giggled Bianca.

"Pleased? I'm absolutely over the moon! I've always wanted to go to LA! And I'm going on a cruise? Who did all this?"

"Well, we all chipped in with the money, but you might want to thank a certain someone for organizing all this..." giggled Bianca, looking over at Captain Haddock who was smirking insanely.

"YOU did this?" exclaimed Tintin.

"On the contrary... yes I did..." he said, grinning from ear to ear, glad to see that his friend is totally satisfied with the present that €1500 got flushed away. Tintin screamed with delight and leaped into Captain's Haddock's arms, kissing his cheek multiple times.

"Alright! Alright! Alright! That's enough! Get off!" yelped Captain Haddock , swiping Tintin off him.

"Thank you so much! I never realised you could be so sweet! Thank you to all of you!"

"And I thought you were sick, Monsieur Tintin..." said Nestor, peering from behind he door, "Anyway he needs his rest, so everyone skedaddle now!" He snapped his fingers and pointed to the door. Everyone sighed and walked out of the room, Tintin blowing kisses to them as they exited.

"Well, Monsieur, you are excited!" exclaimed Nestor, "A cruise trip to LA? Fancy way of celebrating your sweet sixteen! Anyway, I got a birthday present for you!" He revealed a tray of waffles and black coffee and placed it on Tintin's lap.

"Oh Nestor, thank you very much!"

"Your welcome. Now, bite on this." He shoved a thermometer into Tintin's mouth, "And don't let go of that! I need to check your temperature..."

"Oh don't worry, I already did that! It's 102 degrees..."

"Great Scott! 102 degrees? You really need to stay in bed then, Monsieur."

"But I need to hand in the article for _Le Petit Vingtième! _They'll kill me if I don't come into work today..."

"Well, too bad! You need to rest! And stop worrying about that blasted article, you'll be fine!" snapped Nestor, walking out of the room. Tintin snorted and grabbed his typewriter off the cabinet.

"Well, a fever's not going to stop me from getting this promotion!" he snorted, popping a piece of waffle into his mouth, "Now will it, Snowy?"

Snowy whined and hid under the covers. The human mind is just baffling to a dog like him...

**And we are finite! Sorry if this chapter is a bit short and that it's took so long to write, but I wasn't feeling too well all week and I've just started this yesterday! But I hope you've enjoyed it, thanks for reading and please review!**

**Luna's World**


	3. Chapter 3: Working Hard or Not Enough?

Tintin in L.A.

Chapter 3: Working Too Hard or Not Enough?

**Author's Note: ****So, we meet again, readers! Thank you for coming back! Sorry this one took so long, but that's because it IS so long! Also I have been quite busy, but not too busy that I've forgotten about this! Before we begin, I'd like to thank ****The Babyfaced Assassin ****again for correcting me with my big mistakes! So I've tried to fix them as best as I can! Enjoy!**

**Luna's World**

A few days later...

"Monsieur Tintin? I just got a call from _Le Petit Vingtième _and they said that you have to come in work today or else..." called Nestor, walking in the bedroom with a telephone under his arm. He growled to see Tintin asleep with the typewriter in his lap. His hands were still placed on the keys and his mouth was hanging wide open, making little moans as he breathed in and out.

"Yes... um, could you hold on for a minute?" Nestor slammed the telephone on the cabinet and shook Tintin hard. Tintin yelped, letting out a little snort. He blinked his eyes rapidly and looked up at Nestor, who was frowning at him with his mouth curled downwards.

"Oh, what is it, Nestor?" snapped Tintin, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

"Have you been on that typewriter AGAIN?"

"Yes, is that any of your business?"

"Yes, it IS my business! Right that's it! You've been caught with that damned thing THREE times this week! And you haven't even slept properly! I'm not putting up with it!" yelled Nestor, yanking the typewriter off Tintin's lap.

"Hey, give me that back, you thief!" yelled Tintin, kneeling up and trying to grab back the typewriter. Tintin and Nestor stared yanking the typewriter back and forth, growling as they pulled and pulled.

"Now, stop being childish! You're sixteen years old and you can't accept the fact that you're making yourself ill with that thing!" yelled Nestor.

"I'm not being childish! What do you mean 'making myself ill with it'! So you're trying to say that a got a fever from a typewriter!" yelled Tintin, standing up and yanking the typewriter harder, leaning back as he pulled.

"Hello? HELLO? ARE YOU STILL THERE, NESTOR!" screamed a crackly voice from the telephone. Tintin and Nestor gasped, as they the typewriter slipped out of their hands and smashed on the floor. Tintin yelled in despair as he jumped from the bed and knelt down to see what the damage was. The typewriter was now totally smashed to pieces and the keys were spread across the room.

"Nestor, you idiot! You broke my typewriter!"

"**I **broke it? You were the one that was yanking on it so hard that it slipped out of my hands!"

"I AM GOING TO HANG UP UNLESS SOMEONE ANSWERS THIS PHONE!" screamed the same voice from the phone. Tintin growled and picked up it up.

"Hello?" he asked moodily, twisting the telephone wire around his finger.

"Finally, someone has answered! Is that you, Tin-can?" snapped a heavy, deep German voice.

"Yes, it's me, Mr Neumann..." sighed Tintin, agitated that his new boss keeps calling him Tin-can...

"Don't take that tone with me, boy! And what is the proper term for your new employer?"

"Yes, **Herr **Neumann..."

"_Gut! Gut! _That's better! Now, let's get to the point! You haven't been in work for the last week and we have other reporters that are hard-working, obedient and actually come into work every day! The last time I saw you was, oh, I don't know... TWO MONTHS AGO!" he yelled down the phone. Tintin sighed. The reason why he wasn't there for two months is because he was caught up in the whole Unicorn incident that led him into another adventure. There he was in the Brussels market just buying a boat and the next minute he was riding a motorbike on an Arabian cliff trying to get a scroll back from a bird!

"Look, Herr Neumann, I was caught up in quite a situation, you see..."

"_Nein! Nein! _I don't want to hear it, Tin-can! I have other more optimistic and dedicated reporters that have more talent in their little finger than you do in your whole damn body!" Tintin gasped at this horrible and untrue statement. After all this time, after all this trouble he's been through in his life... after all the mess he had to go through in almost every country in the world, almost getting killed as a result for trying to get the best story he can get... and Herr Neumann goes ahead and says that... Tintin felt a tear running down his cheek as his heart smashed into a million pieces. He clenched the phone tightly.

"B-but, Herr Neumann..." he stammered.

"Stop yapping when I'm speaking to you, boy! Now, your other employer, Herr Remi Prospers, said that you are quite the adventurer, is that right?"

"Well, yes I am actually! I love adventure, even though sometimes it's not intentional..."

"I didn't ask you to answer me! Now, I'm warning you now to choose wisely. Either shut up, focus and get on with your work or go off on one of your little adventures and be jobless!"

Tintin froze with fear, his knees buckling. He looked down at Nestor, who was cleaning up the bits of broken typewriter. He lifted his head up to listen what Herr Neumann was saying. Though he didn't have to listen hard, as he can clearing hear Herr Neumann screaming down the phone.

"You know, some other girl about your age came in yesterday and did a marvellous article on the Unicorn! She got every single detail, the pictures were perfect and she wasn't even a reporter! She was a detective, believe it or not! Yet she came in, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and handed me that wonderful piece of work with a flourish! She was on a case recently in Brussels and she wanted to be a reporter once she was done. So when the Unicorn opportunity came up, she took advantage of it and got on the job right away! While doing the case at the same time! Now that's what I call hard work and dedication for some on who doesn't even work at _Le Petit Vingtième! _Do you understand what I'm trying to say to you, Tin-can?"

"Yes, Herr Neumann..." mumbled Tintin, hanging his head and twisting the phone wire around his finger.

"_Also dann! _Now, I don't care that you have a fever..."

"Actually, Herr, I'm feeling much better..."

"Don't interrupt me! Better or not, you're going to come into work and get me that article! In fact... have you even done ANYTHING while you were away on your two month splendour?"

"Yes, Herr, I have actually! I've written a whole article on the Unicorn while I was away!"

"Pictures and everything?"

"Yes, I got the pictures..." Tintin sighed. Though getting them wasn't easy...

"_Gut! Gut! _Be here by 9:00 and come into my office immediately! Me and a certain someone wants to speak to you about your attendance levels..."

Before Tintin could reply, Herr Neumann slammed down the phone. Tintin stood still for a moment and the phone slipped out of his fingers and dropped onto the floor, the tone dial still buzzing.

"Monsieur Tintin? Are you alright?" asked Nestor with concern. Tintin sat slowly on the bed and stared into space.

"Monsieur Tintin? Hello? Are you really going to lose your job?"

Tintin sniffed in reply, still staring at the wall.

"He said I was talentless and undedicated... After all the years I've worked for them and I get called that?" whispered Tintin, his hands shaking with shock.

"Look, he's only your new employer, right? He's only known you for three months, he knows nothing about you! You were considered the best reporter for ages now and everyone recognises you and appreciate what you do! And you have more talent and lovability than that German prick!"

"Nestor!" giggled Tintin.

"Well, it's true! Now you get out there and show Belgium what you're made of, you little waffle!"

"Yeah!" yelled Tintin, standing up and straight and running to the window. He yanked the window open and ran outside to the balcony. He flung his arms wide open and breathed in the fresh morning air.

"I AM BELGIUM'S GREATEST REPORTER!" he yelled. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see Captain Haddock looking up at him like he was crazy.

"Oh... um... sorry..." he mumbled meekly, his arms flopping down as he hunched up shyly.

"So I see you're feeling better then!" yelled Captain Haddock.

"Yes I am, thank you... wait... what are you doing out here at this time anyway?"

"Well, seeing as you were still sleeping when I last checked on you, with that TYPEWRITER on your lap..."

"Oh don't worry, it's gone for good..." yelled Tintin, looking darkly back at Nestor who flew out of the room immediately.

"Well, your dog was as hyper as a kid who had twelve pounds of sugar! He was jumping up at me and barking like mad! So, I figured out that he needed a walk, so I took him out here!" yelled Captain Haddock, as Snowy walked out from behind his legs.

"Oh dear, sorry about that, Snowy!" yelled Tintin. Snowy growled in reply and turned his back to him.

"Anyway what are you doing out here, shouting so loud that the whole neighbour hood can hear you?"

"Oh, I was... it doesn't matter! What matters is that I'm better and that I'm ready to show Herr Neumann a what a REAL reporter can do! Wait a second... what time is it?"

"It's... umm... 8:30!" yelled Captain Haddock looking at his watch.

"Great Snakes, I'm late for work!" yelled Tintin, rushing back into the room and slamming the window behind him. He quickly got ready, grabbed his coat and rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He ran down the corridors and almost flew over the stairs, his coat flying behind him. He sprinted down the main stairway and suddenly crashed into Professor Calculus, nearly toppling him over.

"Dear goodness, boy, you need to watch here you're going!" yelped Professor Calculus, hitching his glasses up.

"Sorry Professor, it's just that I'm late for work! I have a very important attendance to go to and I need to hand this article in and..." Tintin searched his pockets frantically, "Oh no! I must have forgotten it!" he cried.

"Oh, do you mean THIS article?" asked Professor Calculus slyly, pulling out the article from behind his back.

"Where did you get that? Oh, never mind! Can I have my article back, please?" asked Tintin, trying to grab the article off Professor Calculus. Professor Calculus just smiled smugly as he held the papers high in the air.

"You do know I'm taller than you! I can reach them!" Tintin frantically attempted to grab the article, but Professor Calculus just swiftly took it out of his reach. Tintin tried everything to get his article back, but Professor Calculus was too quick, waving the article swiftly all over the place as Tintin waved his arms frantically trying to get it back.

"I'm not giving you them back unless you promise me something!"

Tintin's arms flopped down with defeat as he let out a huge sigh.

"Fine, fine, what do you want?" sighed Tintin.

"I need you for an experiment that I'm doing recently..."

"Oh no! Not another one of your experiments! I'm not your guinea pig, you know!"

"No, no, it'll be safe, that's all. I just need to test a certain something on you, that's all..."

"Wait a second, I just realised something! After the Captain inherited Marlinspike, he became very, very wealthy! He had millions of Euros in that safe and only he knew the code! I mean, he couldn't become broke after just spending €1500 on a cruise vacation to LA! Wait a second... did you break into the safe just to steal the money on your experiments?" gasped Tintin, slapping his hand to his mouth. Professor Calculus cleared his throat.

"Well... um... I... oh dear..."

"Hold on... he said himself that the vacation made him penniless... wait, that doesn't make any sense..."

"Well, you see he would have killed me if he found out that all the money was gone, so I used some of it to make a hypnotising pendant to hypnotise him into thinking that the money was all gone because of the vacation!"

"Now it's starting to make sense! I knew something was fishy as soon as he said that 'this present has made us penniless and redundant'! How could he be broke when he has millions of Euros from the inheritance! Oh Professor, how could you do something so vile and villainous as this?"

"Well, I was about to explain that now! You see, I've made an amazing discovery in the teenage mind! But, I'll explain it to you later... I need you to test this revolutionary new equipment out so I can see if it works! Though if it doesn't work, then I guess I have flushed millions of Euros down the toilet..." mumbled Professor Calculus, scratching the back of his head with guilt.

"OK then, I'll do your experiment then! But if it fails, I'm going to tell Captain Haddock about all this!"

"Fine! Fine! Here's your article back then..." mumbled Professor Calculus, handing over the article to Tintin.

"Thank you very much! Now let's hope that I won't be jobless today if I'm late..." mumbled Tintin, looking at his watch, "Oh crumbs! I really need to go!" he yelped, sprinting out of the door and slamming it behind him. He ran down the pathway and stopped dead in his tracks as he approached Captain Haddock.

"Ah ha! There you are, Captain! And I didn't even run into you!" gasped Tintin, breathing heavily in and out and leaning over, clenching his hip.

"Blistering barnacles, lad, are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Captain! Now, can I have Snowy, please?"

"Oh, certainly..." replied Captain Haddock, handing over the lead to Tintin.

"Thank you! Have a good day!" yelled Tintin, sprinting down the pathway, Snowy trying to keep up with him. He flung the huge golden gate open and slammed it behind him, almost trapping Snowy in it.

"Oops, sorry, Snowy!"

Snowy whined in reply, quite hurt that his friend is in too much of a rush to notice that Snowy's paw was nearly crushed by the gate. Tintin started running down the street again, breathing heavily as he dodged swiftly past other residents. Snowy limped behind, whining with pain at every step he took. That gate must have trapped his paw. Tintin looked behind him as he felt the lead pull to notice that Snowy was lying down on the pavement.

"Snowy? Come on, Snowy, we have no time to be lying around!" groaned Tintin, kneeling down to see what was wrong with Snowy.

"Snowy, are you alright, boy?" asked Tintin with concern. He lifted up Snowy and touched his paws. Snowy yelped in pain as he finally located the paw that was trapped.

"Oh, Snowy! Did I trap your paw in the gate?"

Snowy whined in reply and looked up at Tintin.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry, boy! Tell you what, how about I carry you the rest of the way, then after work, I'll take you to a vet?" Snowy barked in reply, meaning a yes. Tintin nodded and lifted up Snowy, hugging him tightly in his arms. He sprinted off again as he approached downtown Brussels.

Mornings in Brussels were certainly not quiet ones. As soon as the 8:30 bell struck, the whole city burst into action as the streets fill up with residents and passerby. Market stalls are set up and the whole city is bustling with conversation. Paperboys ride on their bikes across the streets, bakers walk cautiously with their pans of bread, the milkmen deliver their milk and the postmen walked casually up and down the streets, delivering their mail as usual. Tintin couldn't run in the busy city anymore, as it was too crowded and claustrophobic. He carefully and cautiously slid in and out of the crowds, trying not to bump into anyone as he clutched Snowy tightly.

"Now, now, where is it... ah ha, here it is!" exclaimed Tintin, walking up to a tall, narrow building. It looked very luxurious and fancy; white marbled and outlined with gold, with stained glass windows. It looked like a hotel or a mansion than it did a newspaper establishment. He stared up at the top, as a huge sign said _Le Petit Vingtième. _He walked up the marble stairs and entered the building. The lobby was very classy and luxurious inside, as it was bustling with other employees, some running frantically back and forth and others talking speedily on the phone or to other people. Tintin slid in and out of the crowds of employees and finally got up to the reception desk. A young, pretty woman with blonde hair tied up in a neat bun was chewing gum and filing her nails as she talked nonchalantly and moodily on the phone. Tintin tapped on the glass and the woman looked up behind her eyelashes, raising an eyebrow. She put the phone down and leaned over.

"Wait, wait, and let me guess... Gingersnaps! Aka: Teacher's Pet?" she asked in a thick New Jersey accent, a cold sneer on her face as she stared at Tintin with a snarky look in her eye.

"Once was, Gladys..." sighed Tintin, "As you probably heard that our new boss doesn't really like me!"

"Oh yeah, I think I got the message that Herr Neumann REALLY doesn't like you!"

"Glad you got the message. How's the whole moving to Belgium situation?"

"Belgium's a complete dump, but at least it's better than New Jersey..."

"You are never impressed by ANYTHING, are you, Gladys?"

"Got that right, Gingersnaps!" giggled Gladys.

"Anyway, can you just sign me in, please?"

"Sure thing, Gingersnaps." Gladys took out a ticket from a machine, stamped it and placed in into a register.

"Thank you, Gladys, good luck with the whole finding a husband situation!" laughed Tintin, running up a stairway.

"Yeah, well at least I'm not single... or ginger!" yelled Gladys, but Tintin was too far away to listen to her insults. Snowy looked behind Tintin's shoulder and snarled at this rude, snarky woman.

"Just ignore her, Snowy. She's going through a divorce, so just leave her be." whispered Tintin. Snowy let out a little sigh and snuggled back into Tintin's chest.

After walking down several corridors and climbing up several flights of stairs, he finally got up to Herr Neumann's office. Tintin took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He let out a shaky sigh as a short, brunette woman in a short white dress with a revealing cleavage opened the door.

"Hello there, Aurelie, is Herr Neumann there, please?"

"Frauline Aurelie, who is it?" yelled Herr Neumann.

"It's little ol' Gingersnaps, Herr!" she yelled back.

"Who?"

"Tin-can, Herr!"

"Let him in then!"

Aurelie shifted to the side with a '_you're in big trouble' _look on her face. Tintin frowned at her as he walked gingerly up to Herr Neumann's desk. He was sitting in a big, velvet chair with his feet perched up on the mahogany desk, smoking a cigar. He was tall and quite broad in his late thirties with a square, hard face and a black moustache and black wavy hair that hung down at the front. He stared coldly at Tintin, who was looked like he was about to faint.

"Ahh, there you are, Tin-can! I thought you would never come!" snapped Herr Neumann.

"Ew! Who's the mutt in his arms?" screeched Aurelie, pointing at Snowy.

"Aurelie, shut up and get out! And take the dog with you! I'm allergic to those tramps..." snapped Herr Neumann, pointing his finger to the door. Snowy growled as Aurelie grabbed him off Tintin. She stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

"Now then, before we get started, let me reunite you with a visitor that you may have been acquaintance..." Herr Neumann pointed to a short, quite slim man standing near the window. He had brunette glossy hair and piercing brown eyes and a calm, gentle expression on his face. He looked like he was in his early thirties and he was also holding a sketch book under his arm.

"Wait a minute... Monsieur Remi Prospers?" gasped Tintin, staring at him with surprise.

"Tintin?" gasped Remi, his eyes widening at the sight of this familiar face.

"Great Snakes, it is you!" yelled Tintin with joy, running up to Remi and hugging him tight. Remi laughed with delight, dropped the sketchbook and hugged him tight, smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh, I can't believe your here, Remi! I thought you were in America?"

"Well, I came back here just to see you!"

Tintin hugged him harder, squealing with delight. Remi laughed and ruffled his quiff, "I see you still have this?"

"Yes, I've been trying to get rid of it for ages..."

"Oh no! I think it very adorable! Keep it, it suits you!"

"When you are quite done!" snapped Herr Neumann, leaning over the desk and tapping his fingers impatiently on the table.

"Oops, sorry, Adolph! I'm just thrilled to see my favourite reporter again1"

"Cheeky! You're not supposed to have favourite, Remi!" giggled Tintin, finally letting go of Remi and sitting down on a stool. Remi picked up his sketchbook, sat down on a chair next to him and crossed his leg over the other.

"Right, now like I was saying this morning, Tin-can, your attendance levels are absolutely atrocious! And Herr Prospers said that you were like that when he was still in charge as well!"

"I'm afraid he's right, Tintin, I have your attendance record right here and I have to say, they're not very good..." sighed Remi, waving a pile of papers in his hand. Tintin gulped as he looked back at Herr Neumann, who was scowling at Tintin.

"But Remi, you know I get caught up in a lot of situations! I tell you all about them! That's the reason why you're doing your comic strips nowadays!"

"Oh yes, the whole 'getting your own comic studio in America', how's that going then?" asked Herr Neumann, sneering at Remi, who was sitting stiffly and clearing his throat.

"Well... it's... not doing too bad... I'm only starting out, Adolph! Just you wait and see! It's going to be huge! In a couple of years, you'll see!"

Herr Neumann snorted with doubt, "Well, I'm very certain it's going to be bigger that Disney! Not..."

Remi growled at Herr Neumann, clenching his fists and shaking his legs. Tintin looked at him with concern. Any time Remi was like this, anything could happen...

"Anyway, me and Remi was discussing the whole attendance situation and then we had a look at your actual performances and I have too say that I can see why your Belgium's Favourite Reporter! But even still, I'm not impressed by your attitude about this. You don't even care that your losing your wages every time you sneak off work!"

Alright. That's it. Tintin had just about enough of this.

"As a matter of fact, I DO care, Neumann! I don't even get into these adventures deliberately, they come by fate! You know, after all this time I've worked here and after all I've done, you've never gave me one note of thanks, not one bit of sympathy! You never think, 'Oh, I should think more about Tintin, I might give him a raise or a promotion! I should consider more about Tintin and how much hard work he has done!' In fact, you never even call me by my real name!"

"Yes I do! It's Tin-can and it always has been!" snapped Herr Neumann, standing up straight, spitting out his cigar and slamming his hands on the desk. Remi giggled at this absurd name.

"Tin-can?" he giggled, trying not to laugh at poor Tintin, who was still breathing heavily with rage and his cheeks raspberry red. His head shot to the side, staring darkly at Remi.

"Yes, Tin-can! He calls me Tin-can! You never did that!"

"Well, to be fair, I did call you Gingersnaps time to time..." mumbled Remi, hanging his head with shame.

"Oh come on, everyone calls me that! This man doesn't even give a damn about my name, my work or my past!" yelled Tintin, turning back to Herr Neumann.

"Well, despite the fact that you barely tell me about your life!"

"That's because you never ask me about anything! You never ask me how I'm feeling, what's I'm doing later on, you never ask me anything! Remi used to always do those things and he made me feel like I was wanted!"

"Well, you know what; you can feel as unwanted as you want, because you're fired!" yelled Herr Neumann, pushing Tintin hard that he almost toppled over.

"Well, I don't care, because I was going to quit anyway!" snapped Tintin, composing himself and smoothing his coat, "Remi, I wish the best of the best and I hope that you will be bigger than Disney!"

"Oh Tintin..." sighed Remi, looking up at him, his brown eyes filling up with disappointed tears.

"And you Neumann, I hope you rot in hell and you can take_ Le Petit Vingtième_ and shove it up your ass!"

Remi and Neumann gasped with horror at this rude remark. Remi placed his hand over his mouth, horrified that this innocent little reporter would say such a revolting insult. Neumann's face turned purple with pure rage as he stood stiffly with his fists clenched tightly. He breathed heavily in and out, growling like a raged animal, his eyes bulged and his teeth were clenched.

"GET OUT!" he screamed, yanking Tintin's quiff and dragging him across the floor. Remi almost screamed with horror as Neumann yanked the door open and flung Tintin into the corridor, slamming the door behind him. Tintin frowned, standing up straight and smoothing out his coat. He clenched his forehead as his quiff sprung back into place. His head felt like a banging drum as a few orange hairs fell into his palm.

"Ouch!" gasped Tintin, "Oh well, it was worth it!"

"You talking to yourself again, Gingersnaps?" asked Aurelie shakily. She walked slowly and wobbly over to him, still clenching onto Snowy for comfort.

"Oh Aurelie, are you alright?" asked Tintin with concern. She looked like she was going to be sick, "Did you get a shock attack?"

"Of course not, Gingersnaps! I'm fine! Here's your mutt!" she snapped, handing Snowy over to Tintin. She huffed and stormed off down the corridor, still wobbling with shock. Suddenly, she toppled over and landed hard onto the corridor floor.

"Aurelie!" gasped Tintin, running up to her to find her half conscious. She looked up at him, blinking rapidly and letting out little moans. Remi exited the office and noticed Tintin kneeling over the half conscious Aurelie.

"Tintin, what's wrong?" asked Remi frantically, running up to them.

"I think Aurelie's passed out... I think..." whispered Tintin, leaning over Aurelie, "Aurelie, can you hear me?" Aurelie kept on moaning and blinking her eyes. Suddenly, she grabbed the back of Tintin's head, pulled him forwards and kissed him violently on the lips. Tintin waved him arms about, trying everything to let go. Suddenly, Aurelie released him and he toppled backward onto the floor.

"Ha, ha! Now that's what I call CPR!" laughed Aurelie, sitting up and laughing at Tintin's priceless face, "Well, that's what you get for putting salt in my coffee yesterday, Gingersnaps!"

"That wasn't me, it was Gladys! Why did you go and do that? I thought there was something seriously wrong with you!" yelped Tintin, his voice going high-pitched.

"Aww, you are so cute when you go high-pitched!" she laughed, kissing his cheek, "Aww, your cheek is warm and rosy! You're blushing! That's adorable!"she laughed. She jumped up and skipped down the hallway, singing to herself. Remi giggled, biting his lower lip and making little hissing, giggling noises. Tintin stared up at him, frowning at him.

"It's not funny, Remi! I honestly thought she was knocked out!" snapped Tintin, standing up.

"Oh Tintin, you're so much more stiff and snappy nowadays... Whatever happened to the quirky, innocent, curious little Tintin I used to know?" sighed Remi, shaking his head.

"I'm still quirky! And innocent! And curious! I'm just maturing..."

"Are you still ticklish?" asked Remi, tickling Tintin all over.

"No! No! Stop it!" spluttered Tintin, laughing like a maniac as Remi tickled him roughly all over.

"OK! OK! That's enough, please Remi!" screamed Tintin, kicking and wiggling all over the place still laughing loudly.

"Alright then... hey, stop kicking me!"

"I can't! I'm too ticklish!" sniffed Tintin, wiping his tears away as he lifted up Snowy, "Oh Remi, I have missed you so much! Life here has been horrible since Neumann came, not just for me, but for everyone else too! _Le Petit Vingtième _just hasn't been the same without you!"

"I know, Tintin, but you know that I've always wanted to be a comic animator and ever since I've moved to America, I've finally got my chance! Anyway, I was wondering if you needed a ride home, seeing as you..."

"Oh Remi, that would be wonderful, thank you!" exclaimed Tintin, smiling from ear to ear. He linked his arm in Remi's and they walked out of the building and into the bustling Belgian streets.

"Good grief! I forgot how claustrophobic Brussels was! But it's not as busy as New York though..."

"Tell me about it! I have to put up with these crowds every morning! Well, until the whole..."

"Just forget about that!" said Remi, taking out his keys and unlocking his car. They both jumped in and Remi started up the car.

"Now Tintin, tell me what's happened to you recently..."

**Done, done, finally done! Sorry this one is so long, but if I made all the chapters the same length as Chapter One, there would be too many chapters, so I decided to put as much as I could! **

**Soooooo, Tintin can be a bit of a pottymouth sometimes! And yes, Remi Prospers IS Herge, that's why him and Tintin are like father and son... or maybe they really are? ;)**

**SO thank you for reading and please review! Next chapter will be updated soon!**

**Luna's World**


	4. Chapter 4:Reunions and Randomness

Tintin in L.A.

Chapter Four: Reunions and Randomness

**Author's Note: ****Hello there again my dear readers and thank you for returning! Now before this chapter, I'd like to say a massive big thank you to all the readers who have left some very nice comments, internet hugs for you guys! I'd also like to thank ****Narnian Pirate ****for saying that Tintin wasn't really acting that nice in the last chapter and yeah I gotta admit, the whole Aurelie scene was a bit random and dare I say, awkward? So thank you for saying and I'll make sure he's back to his adorable, innocent self in this chapter. And yes, I'll make sure the OC isn't a bad influence! ;) Also someone else pointed out (sorry I don't know your name) that Captain Haddock was acting a little bit too OOC to Bianca and acting a bit too nice to her! But, I guess you can say that he's lived with her for so long that maybe he's gave up and started to soften a bit? (Stockholm Syndrome maybe?) But I'll fix that flaw up as best as I can! And I'll make sure that Professor Calculus will misunderstand when someone's speaking to him, seeing as he's deaf (I can't believe I forgot that! *facepalm*) One last thing, is that the wonderful Herge will appear again in this chapter, seeing as he's an awesome guy I couldn't get rid of him without saying a few hellos! (Oh, why did he have to die before finishing Tintin and Alph Art? Hope he's still drawing in the sky!)**

**Anyway, I'll shut up now and let you read on!**

**Luna's World**

"So you're going to LA this weekend? On a cruise? THIS weekend?" gasped Remi, nearly squeaking with surprise.

"Tomorrow, to be precise." said Tintin, grinning form ear to ear. They drove up the pathway, the gravel crunching behind them and parked the car on the curb in front of Marlinspike. Tintin looked at Remi, observing his surprised face. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was hanging open all the way, staring at Tintin.

"Close your mouth, Remi, it's not very gentleman like!" giggled Tintin. Remi shut his mouth quickly as it turned in to a warm smile.

"Oh, Tintin, that's wonderful! You've always wanted to go to Los Angeles! For your sweet sixteenth as well! That's one heck of a way to celebrate it!"

"I know right! And I'm leaving for the cruise tonight!"

"That's just great! Oh, you're so lucky having this for your birthday! I never got anything like this when I was young! You're very, very lucky to receive this!"

"Well, luck has always been my main trait all my life!" said Tintin, leaning back on the seat and smiling warmly at Remi. He was pleased to see that Remi was excited for him. Though Tintin felt so sorry for him though, as he was brought up in a time and place where luxuries never occurred to Remi.

"I feel so sorry for you though, Remi. I mean look at me, getting this opportunity at sixteen and yet look at you. You didn't even get birthday party when you were sixteen!"

"It's fine, Tintin. And besides, I went out on a day trip around Brussels with my fellow cartoonists for my sixteenth anyway! Now that was just enough for me! And I'm grateful enough now that I'm living in New York and I'm getting my own studio set up soon! And just think, in a few years time, I might even get my own comic book series fired up..." sighed Remi, staring out the car window, a far away look on his face. Tintin sighed and shook Remi's shoulder. Remi blinked rapidly, shivering quite a bit as he looked back at Tintin.

"Oops, sorry Tintin, I was just in a bit of a daydream..."

"Well, I wish you the best with your new job! You're gonna be a legend, Mr Prospers!" said Tintin, putting on a New York accent.

"Oh, shut up!" giggled Remi, elbowing Tintin in the stomach gently. Tintin giggled and swiped his arm away, "Although I don't what I'm going to do about my job though..."

"Oh dear... what are you going to tell your housemates..." asked Remi with concern as he stared out of Tintin's window and looked up at Marlinspike.

"I don't know, I really don't know... Wait a second... do you know who I'm living with at the moment, Remi?" asked Tintin, sitting up straight. Remi stared at him with a blank expression on his face and shook his head slowly. Tintin gasped, putting his hand to his mouth as he stiffened up with shock.

"Oh my goodness, Remi! You don't know! And it's been so long... they probably don't even know you're in Brussels! Hmm, I think it's time for a little reunion..." said Tintin, rubbing his hands together and looking at Remi mischievously.

"Tintin... I don't like the way you're looking at me..."

Tintin squeaked with excitement and sprung out of the car, slamming the door behind him. He ran over to Remi's side and yanked the door open.

"Come on, Remi, you need to see them again!" yelped Tintin, pulling on Remi's arm.

"What? Who? Them? Tintin, what are you doing?" yelped Remi as Tintin dragged him out of the car, "_Lieve hemel! _For someone who's so skinny, you sure are strong!"

"No time for that! Come on! Come on! Hurry up! Oh, they're going to be so pleased to see you again!" laughed Tintin, pulling Remi's arm and leading him up to the front door. He knocked on the door rapidly and swayed back and forth, giggling with excitement.

"Tintin, what are you doing? You're acting like a lunatic!" exclaimed Remi, staring at Tintin like he was crazy. Tintin kept knocking on the door, bobbing up and own and grinning like a cat.

"For goodness sake, stop banging on the door!" snapped Nestor, opening the door and looking down at the hyped-up Tintin.

"What on Earth? Monsieur Tintin, why are you acting like a child who's just had ten pounds of sugar? Why are you out of work?" snapped Nestor, frowning at Tintin, who was still grinning madly and doing anything but standing still.

"I'll tell you about that later! Where are the others? I've got someone to see them!"

"I don't know! I'm not a navigator! Why are you so excited anyway? For goodness sake, keep still and tell me!" snapped Nestor, grabbing Tintin's shoulders and forcing him to stand still.

"Well Nestor, I met a very special someone at work today! He's been out of Belgium for ages now, but he came back to see me!"

"Who has?"

Tintin clapped his hands and held Remi's arm, leading him to stand in front of Nestor.

"Nestor, I don't think I need to introduce this special someone!" giggled Tintin, looking up at Remi, who was looking at Nestor with a blank expression. Nestor blinked at this stranger and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry... who is this?" asked Nestor, examining Remi, who was still blinking at him and standing stiffly.

"What? Nestor, don't you remember him?" asked Tintin, a confused tone in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Tintin, who is this?" asked Remi, looking down at Tintin.

"But, Nestor, you must know him! It's Remi Prospers! You know, my old boss? The one that moved to America to become a cartoonist?" Nestor cleared his throat and looked at Tintin with a blank face.

"I'm sorry, Monsieur Tintin, but I don't know any cartoonist by the name of Remi Prospers..." Tintin stared at Nestor with a disappointed look on his face. He looked back up at Remi.

"Remi, you must know who Nestor is..."

"Sorry, I don't know any Nestors..."

Tintin huffed for a second, looking down at the floor and tapping his feet awkwardly. Then his head shot back up again.

"Oh yes, that's right! Remi hasn't met you before! Remi hasn't even been to Marlinspike before... Great Snakes, how could I forget that!" Nestor cleared his throat as Remi looked back at the car.

"Perhaps I should go now..." mumbled Remi, taking out his car keys.

"No! No, Remi! You must stay! You may haven't been to Marlinspike before, but you certainly have met its residents! Nestor, can you please let us in? I need to give Remi a grand tour of Marlinspike!" Nestor nodded as he stepped out of the way. Tintin grabbed Remi's hand again and lead him inside the main hall. Remi gasped as he dropped Tintin's hand. He gazed at the huge hall, examining every single detail of it, standing awestruck with his mouth hanging with open with amazement.

"Oh my goodness... YOU live here?" gasped Remi, staring awestruck at Tintin, who was smiling like a cat and folding his arms.

"Yes I do actually! But took one heck of a way to get here though... Do you want to see the upstairs? Though stick with me though, it's like a labyrinth in this place!" said Tintin, holding Remi's hand and leading him up the marble stairway. Remi stared awestruck at the hallways and observed every detail and explored every single room and his eyes were constantly wide open with fascination. After touring through the hallways and visiting all the rooms, they finally got up to Tintin's room.

"And this is my room!" said Tintin, opening the door and leading Remi inside the spacious, luxurious bedroom. Remi gasped with awe, staring at every bit of furniture and examining the size of the room.

"My goodness, Tintin, it's huge!" gasped Remi, falling down on the bed, "And this bed is amazing! You are probably the luckiest person ever! How did you get all this?"

"It's kind of complicated to explain... I'll let the person who officially owns this place explain it to you!"

"Tinhead? Are you there? I need to speak to you about the experiment!" called Professor Calculus, entering the room and gasped to find Remi lying on Tintin's bed.

"Umm, Tinhead... who is this?" mumbled Professor Calculus, staring at the stranger on the bed.

"Oh, Professor! I'd like to reunite you with someone! You must be able to recognise him!"

"Wait a second! You're Professor Calculus! The deaf scientist am I correct?" asked Remi, standing up from the bed and walking up to Professor Calculus, who was still staring at him.

"Professor, don't stare! It's not very polite!" hissed Tintin, nudging Professor Calculus. He cleared his throat and held out his hand.

"Yes I am Professor Calculus. Oh yes! You're the cartoonist Tinhead was telling me about... Demi Rockers!"

Remi raised an eyebrow as he shook Professor Calculus's hand gingerly.

"Tinhead? Demi Rockers? What is he talking about?" mumbled Remi to Tintin. Tintin just smiled warmly a she shrugged his shoulders.

"He misunderstands people because he's deaf. He's always called you Demi Rockers anyway." whispered Tintin.

"Ah ha! Anyway, Tinhead, remember our deal this morning? I gave you back your article if you tested out an experiment for me!"

"Well, there's no point now seeing as I can't use the article anymore for a certain reason..." mumbled Tintin, looking down at the floor and shuffling his feet.

"Eh? What was that, boy? I couldn't quite catch that?" said Professor Calculus, cupping his ear and leaning forward.

"It doesn't matter, I'll explain later! Anyway, what is this whole 'exploring the teenage mind' anyway? You're not going to explore my thoughts are you?"

"Now that's exactly what I'm going to do! You must be psychic!"

"No, no and no! I'm not having you moseying inside my head! I have personal thoughts you know. My mind is like a bedroom, you keep out and stay out!" huffed Tintin, turning his back to Professor Calculus, folding his arms and sticking his nose in the air. Professor Calculus sighed and dropped to his knees.

"Oh pretty please, I'll do anything for you if you do this for me..." sighed Professor Calculus, rolling his eyes as he clutched his hands together. He grabbed a bunch of flowers nearby and held them up, "Will these do?" Tintin peered round his shoulder, his mouth curling a little as he tried not to laugh. He looked at Remi who was trying to keep it together, clamping his lips shut and keeping his head down. Tintin swivelled round and looked down at Professor Calculus. Suddenly, Tintin and Remi burst into laughter.

"Oh, what? What? You make me do this, Tinhead!" snapped Professor Calculus. Tintin took a deep breath and smiled warmly at Professor Calculus.

"Oh, Professor, I'm just teasing you! OK, fine, I'll do the experiment! Just as long as it doesn't kill me! And, Remi, you better stay alert when you're in Professor Calculus's laboratory. Last time you were here one of his machines nearly killed you!"

"Oh, I think I'll stay WAY alert after that incident!" giggled Remi.

"Alright then, let's go!"exclaimed Professor Calculus, grabbing Tintin's and Remi's hands and pulled them along the corridors.

"Hey! Hey, slow down, we're not dogs, you know!" snapped Tintin, "Wait... dogs... hold on, where's Snowy?"

"Oh dear, I think he's left in the car..." mumbled Remi, trying to keep up with Professor Calculus.

"Oh no! How did I leave him the car? Well, he's still sleeping from the anaesthetics when we took him to the vet's... Oh for goodness sake, Professor, slow down!" snapped Tintin.

"Sorry, boy, but we need to hurry! We need to get this over with!" said Professor Calculus, still running down the corridor, holding Tintin's and Remi's hands. They finally got up to two metal doors with a metal padlock to keep it shut. Professor Calculus took out a sliver key and unlocked the padlock, letting it drop to with floor with a big clang. He opened the two big doors and they entered the room. The laboratory was a huge, huge room, with all sorts of gizmos and gadgets all spread out on the long narrow table and huge metal machines whirred noisily as lights were flashing all sorts off colours and letting out steam. Remi looked up and noticed a big, luminous orange ball hanging from the ceiling.

"Um Professor? I don't remember that huge ball hanging from the ceiling last time I came here..." Tintin looked up as well and noticed the strange ball too.

"Great Snakes! He's right, Professor! What is that?"

Professor Calculus looked up at the ball and smiled, "Well, that's the device that's going to help me get into your mind!"

Tintin squeaked and stared at Professor Calculus.

"Y-you w-w-want me... too... g-go n-near... THAT thing...?"

"Precisely! Don't worry though, it's not going to harm you! Come, come, sit down and let me just attach this to your head..." said Professor Calculus, guiding Tintin to a chair and taking out a strange helmet-type device with two metal poles sticking out with two orange luminous balls attached to them. Tintin sat down slowly as Professor Calculus strapped it on to his head.

"How does this work anyway, Professor?" asked Remi, fondling with a spoon-like device.

"Well, Demi, you see, the ball hanging from the ceiling and the two balls on this helmet are exactly the same! I created these balls because the ceiling ball collects energy from the sun and charges these two balls on the helmet. No other source other than the sun can provide the power that we need! That's why I've made the ceiling ball to get that power that we need!"

"Oh I see... I thought you used the sun just to be eco-friendly?"

"No! No! I'm using the sun because I need it's energy to charge these balls up."

"But why would something as revolutionary as this mind-exploring type thingie need the sun to charge it up?" asked Tintin, looking up at this strange and ridiculous helmet on his head.

"As you see, it's an EXPERIMENT, this is the first time I've actually tried this out and if this works, then I'll try and figure out an alternative way to make this work."

"Wait, so you haven't even tested this out yet?" yelped Tintin, panic building up inside of him.

"To be fair, no, I haven't. But I did warn you that it could be dangerous and that you're the first person to try this out!"

"You NEVER said anything like that!"

"Didn't I? I thought I did..."

"Well, obviously you haven't!"

"Well, you're not chickening out now! There's no-one else that's still in their teens but you! You're the only one I can test it on!" said Professor Calculus, trying to compose Tintin, who was thrashing about and trying to pull the helmet off his head.

"You know, Professor, if he doesn't want to do it, then he..." Suddenly Remi was cut off as the huge metal door flung open and almost squashed him. Standing at the doorway was a rather disgruntled Captain Haddock and a quite excitable Bianca.

"For the last time, no!" snapped Captain Haddock, trying to push Bianca away from him.

"Oh come on! Just one song! Please? I'll scream if you refuse to hear it!"

Thundering typhoons! Please don't scream! That's even worse!" snapped Captain Haddock, putting his hands over his ears. He looked straight forward to find Tintin thrashing around in a chair with a ridiculous helmet on his head and Professor Calculus trying to restrain him. Bianca stopped shrieking and stared at them, trying to figure out what they're doing.

"Blistering barnacles! What are you doing?" gasped Captain Haddock, staring at Tintin and Professor Calculus who had stopped thrashing around and stared back at them.

"Why are you wearing that funny looking helmet on your head, Tintin?" giggled Bianca, as Tintin grabbed the helmet and tried to yank it off his head.

"Great Snakes, Professor, how tight did you make this helmet?"

"Hello? Somebody help me! I can't breathe!" yelped Remi, whose voice was muffled as he was still trapped behind the door. Bianca opened the heavy metal door and screamed to find Remi running out, breathing heavily.

"Thank you..." he gasped, straightening up his back. Suddenly he groaned to find who his rescuer was...

"Oh my goodness... Remi!" squealed Bianca, twirling round with delight, almost whacking Remi with her arms.

"Good grief! It's Little Miss Nightingale!" groaned Remi. Bianca squealed and hugged Remi tight, almost strangling him.

"You remember me! You remember me!" she screamed, almost deafening Remi. He scrunched up his face and plastered a thin smile on his face that obviously looked fake.

"Who would ever forget you..." he mumbled. Bianca squealed and hugged him harder as Remi flung out his arms and waving them about all over the place, desperately trying to escape.

"For goodness sake, Bianca! Let him go, you're obviously suffocating him!" snapped Captain Haddock. Bianca sighed and released Remi. He let out a gasp of relief and plastered on another fake smile.

"Well, it was nice to see you again, Bianca..." he mumbled turning round to face Captain Haddock, who was inspecting him carefully, like he met him before...

"Wait a second, you're that cartoonist... Tintin's boss... where have I seen you before... Remi Prospers?"

"And you must be Captain Haddock!" said Remi, smiling warmly as he took out his hand, "Remember me? I came on a couple of boat voyages and met you a couple of times as well!" Captain Haddock clicked his fingers in realisation and shook Remi's hand, "Yes, that's right! Remi, how good to see you again! How's the studio going in America?"

"It's going smoothly, thank you very much!"

"He came all the way from America just to see me!" giggled Tintin, still fiddling with the helmet, "But I convinced him to come and see you guys again! He was a bit shy though..."

"I was worried you wouldn't recognise me! It's been so long and I've only seen you guys a few times... But it great to see you all again!" said Remi, smiling warmly at everyone as they smiled back, with Tintin grinning the most, STILL trying to get the damn helmet off.

"For goodness sake, Tintin! Stop messing with that helmet!" snapped Professor Calculus, fiddling with a few buttons and levers on the machine.

"Well, back to my last question, what are you doing?" snapped Captain Haddock, tapping his foot impatiently.

"I'm going to use my new revolutionary device to get inside a teenager's mind, observe Exhibit A!" said Professor Calculus, pointing at Tintin, who had now given up on getting the helmet off. He rolled his eyes and crossed his legs, folding his arms impatiently, "So I'm using this ball on the ceiling to generate the sun's energy and power up the helmet that will allow me to get inside Tintin's mind and figure out the teenage mind!"

Captain Haddock sighed and slapped his palm to his face as Bianca screeched out with laughter.

"Professor... you are a complete imbecile!" snapped Captain Haddock, "Why would you go through all this when you can clearly just ask him questions about how the teenage mind works?"

"Because obviously, I wouldn't give any teenage secrets away to Professor Calculus! That would be stupid, he would never keep them!" sighed Tintin.

"Precisely! I tried it before and he just kept quiet as a mouse!"

"OK then, I understand!" said Bianca, "But where did you get the money from?"

"Yes... that's what I want to know? Where did you get the money?" snapped Captain Haddock.

"Actually, I'm quite curious to know where you got the money from..." said Remi meekly.

"Um... I'll explain later... Right now, we need to test this out!" said Professor Calculus quickly, turning a few knobs and pressing some more buttons. Suddenly the machine started whirring and the ceiling ball and the helmet balls started to glow.

"Ah ha! It's starting to glow! Now, Tintin, I need to hypnotise you in order to make this work!"

"Hypnotise me?" yelped Tintin, but Professor Calculus had already got out a weird looking spoon device and clicked the button. It started to light up and sent out a green glow into Tintin's eyes. He started to look sleepy as his eyes drooped and his mouth opened a bit. He stared tranced into the device as he sat completely still.

"Good, good! Now, let's see if I can finally get into your thoughts..."

The three bystanders stood awestruck at this marvellous invention, all except for Captain Haddock, who was frowning at Professor Calculus and raised his hand.

"No questions! I need you all to be perfectly still and completely silent for this!" whispered Professor Calculus, as he put on some headphones and stood behind the machine as a screen light up and was filled with all sorts of weird patterns.

"Yes! It's working! I'm inside his head! But I'm not yet in his thoughts..." mumbled Professor Calculus. He took out a microphone and wired it up to the machine, "Now Tintin, this is very important! You need to listen to everything I say or else this entire experiment will fail! Do you understand?" said Professor Calculus into the microphone. Tintin nodded slowly and sleepily, still staring tranced into the device, which was standing on a pair of legs and still shining in Tintin's eyes.

"Good! Now let me adjust a few things..." mumbled Professor Calculus, turning a knob slightly to the left. The screen fuzzed and whirred and he turned the knob more and more to the left until suddenly the screen was now a dark blue, with glowing blue shapes floating around. The ceiling ball and the helmet balls turned into a luminous dark blue as well and Professor Calculus clapped hands with joy.

"What's happening? Why are the balls blue?" asked Remi with interest.

"Because I have officially entered Tintin's mind! The balls turn blue when this happens! This is it! I've finally created something revolutionary!"

"Umm, Professor... don't you need the sun to power that thing up?" asked Bianca, pointing to the window. The sun was lowering behind the hill fast as the sky started to dim and the colours of the evening sky started to fade away.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! This can't happen, not now!" yelled Professor Calculus as he frantically pressed more buttons and twiddled with the knob more. But the sun finally disappeared as the night sky had finally arrived. The machine whirred slower and slower as the balls started to dim and finally it all switched completely off.

"What? NO! OH NO!" yelled Professor Calculus, falling to his knees and flinging his arms up with protest, "I was so close! Why did the sun have to set now? Why, WHY?"

Bianca clapped her hands slowly, quite confused on whether to congratulate the Professor or not, Remi raised an eyebrow and shot a concerned look at Tintin, who was still hypnotised by the device and Captain Haddock glared at Professor Calculus.

"So, Professor, would you mind to tell me where the money has gone now?" asked Captain Haddock, folding his arms and tapping his foot, glaring angrily at Professor Calculus. He looked at cleared his throat.

"Well... um... you see... the thing is..." mumbled Professor Calculus. He looked round nervously and stared at the exit. He smiled meekly and shot up like a bullet. He sprinted towards the door and avoided Captain Haddock's punches as he sped out of the laboratory and ran down the corridor.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU VILIE, VILLIANOUS VERMIN!" yelled Captain Haddock, running out of the lab and running after Professor Calculus. Remi and Bianca cleared their throats and looked at each other.

"Um... well that was... spiritatic..." mumbled Bianca awkwardly. Remi nodded and looked at Tintin.

"I REALLY think we should get Tintin out of that trance!" gasped Remi. They ran over to Tintin who was still in a sleepy trance, staring bleakly into the green glow of the device.

"Tintin? Tintin, can you hear me?" called Remi, waving his hand in front of Tintin's face. Tintin still stayed in a zombie-like state no matter what Remi did. Suddenly, Remi clicked his fingers.

"I've got it! Professor Calculus used a microphone to communicate with the hypnotised Tintin! Maybe we could use that microphone..."

"Or maybe we can just smash the damn thing!" suggested Bianca, lifting up the device and smashing it to the ground. The green glow flickered and finally switched off. Tintin blinked rapidly as he groaned sleepily. He rubbed his eyes as he looked at Remi.

"Look, he's awake! Tintin, are you alright?" ask Remi with concern.

"Not really... what happened?" asked Tintin, still trying to wake up out of his trance.

"Professor Calculus has hypnotised you in order to do the experiment properly. But it kind of failed..."

"I knew it wouldn't work! Great Snakes, has Captain Haddock found out about the stolen money?"

"Well... he's sussed it out... and he's not happy about it..." Suddenly they heard yelling and screaming as a big crash happened in the safe room, "Oh dear... it looks like he's caught up with him..."

"Oh dear... he's NEVER going to forgive the Professor for this! He's lucky if he even gets to go on the trip anymore..."

"He's lucky if he even gets to live!" exclaimed Bianca, looking at her watch, "Oh goodness, we need to get set off for the cruise soon! I'll put all our stuff in the car!" Bianca walked out of the lab and blew a kiss at Remi.

"Hope to see you in America soon, Remi!" she giggled, winking at him before exiting the room. Remi blushed with embarrassment and he looked at Tintin, who was giggling at him.

"I didn't know Bianca fancied you!" giggled Tintin.

"I never knew! I thought she liked the Captain instead!" exclaimed Remi, biting his lower lips.

"Eh, well she's like that with everyone!" sighed Tintin, jumping up from the chair, "Come on then, we need to get going for the cruise!"

Tintin and Remi exited the lab and walked down the hallways and down the staircases until finally they approached the main stairway. Nestor was standing near the doorway with suitcases around his ankles.

"Ah ha! So you finally came! Is everything alright? I heard crashing and screaming and all sorts of havoc up there!"

"Oh no, its fine! Just a misunderstanding..." mumbled Tintin, looking up at Remi, who coughed uncomfortably.

"Anyway, I better get going now! I've go a flight to catch soon! Don't want to miss it!" exclaimed Remi, looking at his watch. He looked down at Tintin, who was staring at him with big puppy dog eyes, "Oh Tintin, don't look at me like that! You know I've got to go back to America! I have so much to do this month and I need to get back there right away! But I'll see you again or maybe you can come and see me!"

"You know I'm in LA and you're in New York..."

"Well yes, but you can visit me in New York and see my studio! I'm pretty positive you're going to be very surprised!" Remi sighed and shook Nestor's hand, "Well it was nice meeting you, Nestor."

"You too, Monsieur Prospers..."

"Oh and Tintin! Can you give my goodbyes to the others! It's just that..."

"Oh don't worry, I think I got the message!" sighed Tintin, following Remi to his car as he unlocked it with his keys.

"Oh and by the way, Snowy's been scratching at the window this entire time!" called Nestor. Remi and Tintin looked inside the car and found Snowy barking and scratching at the window. Tintin gasped and opened the door as Snowy leaped into his arms.

"Great Snakes, Snowy, I'm sorry!" gasped Tintin, ruffling Snowy's ears. Snowy growled in response. Remi cleared his throat and got into the car.

"Oh, Tintin!" said Remi, opening the window, "I'm sorry about only seeing you for a few hours. I wish I could have stayed longer..."

"It's fine, Remi! I'll probably see you again!"

"Yes... well, I wish you the best time in LA and... happy birthday..."

Tintin gasped, dropped Snowy and flew into Remi's arms, leaning in from the window. Remi smiled and hugged him back, a tear running down his cheek. He sniffed and wiped it away quickly.

"Alright now, Monsieur Tintin, enough of the mushy stuff! Monsieur Prospers needs to go!" said Nestor, grabbing Tintin's shoulders and pulling him away from Remi. Remi cleared his throat and started up the engine.

"Oh! And one last thing, Tintin! I have a little something for you!" said Remi, taking out a piece of paper out of his sketching book and passed it over to Tintin. Before Tintin could say any more, Remi waved at him and drove off into the night. Tintin picked up Snowy and waved at Remi until he was finally gone.

"Well, he was a nice man!" said Nestor.

"He certainly is..." sighed Tintin, looking at the piece of paper that Remi gave him. But it wasn't any piece of paper, it was a drawing!"

"Aww, that's nice, he gave you a drawing! He really is a thoughtful one!" said Nestor, picking up the suitcases and placing them in the car, "Well, I better get the others then. You don't want to be late for something like this!" Nestor walked back into the house as Tintin inspected the drawing. It was a drawing of him! Tintin smiled as he read the message at the bottom:

_To Tintin,_

_Remember when you said you wanted to be 'Hergeized'? Well, here you are and I have to say, you suit dot eyes! Have a wonderful birthday and I'll inform you on whether I'm bigger than Disney yet!_

_Love from Herge (aka your friend Remi)_

Tintin let out a huge grin as he clutched the picture to his chest.

"Oh so that's what his penname is..." he sighed, smiling like a cat.

**Finally done with this big one! I'm SO sorry this one took SO long! I was just too busy and I had to let them get to the cruise already! So sorry if this one's REALLY long! Don't lose hope yet, I have not given up! I was just extremely busy with homework and social life and all the good stuff! And sorry if the ending's a little bit lame, but I really needed to end this before you guys fall asleep! So don't be afraid to point out any mistakes or lame parts and I'll fix them in a jiff! So, thanks for reading and please review!**

**Luna's World**


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